Four NH Christmas Tree Shops not among those closing

Christmas Tree Shops, Nashua. File Photo

New Hampshire’s four Christmas Tree Shops are not listed among the 10 stores the company that owns the chain will close immediately as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring.

Handil Holdings, owner of the 82-store chain, filed for bankruptcy last week in the District of Delaware U.S. Bankruptcy Court. In a motion filed Monday, the company lists 10 stores that will close as part of the bankruptcy restructuring. They are in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan, Georgia and Florida. The 114-page motion also says there’s a possibility it will close other stores “in the future” as part of the bankruptcy action.

The company has four stores in New Hampshire – Nashua, North Conway, Portsmouth and Salem.

In a statement Friday, Marc Salkovitz, CEO of the Middleborough, Massachusetts-based company, said that it will be “business as usual” at the discount home goods stores as the bankruptcy court considers the company’s filing petition. Under Chapter 11, a business can remain open while the court considers its restructuring plan, usually supported by a loan. He said that if the court approves the company’s plan, the restructuring should be completed by August.

Handil Holdings acquired Christmas Tree Shops from Bed, Bath & Beyond in 2020, and announced modernization plans that included a name rebrand to CTS, expanding existing stores and opening new ones. When they announced the rebranding in late 2021, Handil officials said the company had 35% growth in their first year of ownership. 

But Salkovitz told the Wall Street Journal Friday that rising inflation, particularly that caused by the war in Ukraine, has had an impact on the budgets of Christmas Tree Shops’ core customers.

The 10 shops that will close are in Falmouth and Sagamore, Massachusetts; Spring Valley and Watertown, New York; Downingtown and Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Woodbridge, Virginia; Flint, Michigan; Kennesaw, Georgia; Pembroke Pines, Florida.